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Cold... It's so cold! I instinctively reached out to my blanket, wrapped myself and rolled over to the other side of the bed. A dream? Ah, figures; nightmares really do suck. I snuggled onto my pillow. Did I get myself and a new fabric conditioner?
*more sniffing*
I wrapped my arms around it firmly—comfortably warm. It made me remember about that girl with amber eyes. Man, I still don't want to wake up; please continue to stay in my dreams ... I don't even know what to call her. Well, let's just call her "The Woman of My Dreams" for now. As my imaginations have been running wild, I burrowed my face deeper.
*Moans*
Oho~ that sounded so real and good! This every after a nightmare? why not! Okay, I thought that's too much sleep already. I then opened my eyes—"So bright,"—as if waking up in a whole new world. Ah, it's been ages since I had a good sleep. If only I could have mornings like these every day, would it be too much to ask?
Now that my vision had adjusted—still trying to focus from the surrounding light, I stroke my pillow a bunch of times and it definitely felt strangely smooth and tender—entirely different than usual. Did the cushions undo again? Just when did I have this kind of pillow. I sat up slowly, trying not to have that numbness and darkened vision—anemia kicking in. Now, to my surprise, I am now face to face with a certain woman: the woman of my dreams—though she's asleep. 'No way! No way!'
My thoughts raising as if overflowing with countless of reactions as well as my heart trying to catch up with all the emotions pouring. Is she the same woman from last night? Wait! How could I tell that it was her? Even if it was her, how can she be here with me? Am I still dreaming? I guess—but, no! I am perplexed and completely dumbfounded. I shoved the thought aside and stared at her for a good couple of minutes. I didn't have a chance last night seeing her face for it was poorly lit; it was only her glowing amber eyes I could make—I would never let this chance slip! So, this is how she looks like, huh? A sleeping alluring reaper...
Most of you would have coffee or tea in the morning, or even a hot cocoa with milk, sipping and basking under the early sunlight and would already have a great start for the day. As for me, this is already more than a sight for a great start in the morning! This cannot still be a part of my dream, can it? No wonder why the pillow felt differently because I had been sleeping on her lap… b-but wait! Then does that mean that I had been snuggling onto her up until now!? A-and that sound I heard from earlier… was it hers then? And if I had snuggled on her lap while asleep, then that scent—I couldn't contain all the ideas of it—oh boy, I could explode just by thinking about it; calm down.
I gently backed an inchmeal away from her—trying not to cause unwanted noise that might wake her up—in hopes of regaining my composure. Looking at her from this angle, she seems to be wearing a long, white, Victorian dress braided with feathers. Her face covered by her lightning bolt yellow hair with reddish-orange accents. I tried to wave the lock of hair out of the way to have a clearer view of her visage, but I hesitated and just pulled my hand away.
I shouldn't be doing anything to her, even if it's just waving a lock of her hair. What if she wakes up and misunderstands everything? Will I get hacked by her scythe? By the way, I did not see her with a scythe that night and also, she had wings! Could this be a different person? Anyway, am I even alive or what? Uh~ I'm getting lightheaded.
Shoving her from my thoughts aside, I suppose that it's already morning with all the birds chirping and I suppose that I had spent the night at a high ground with all these leaves and trunks surrounding the shed. There are no partitions here much less stuffs, so it is barely a room with only 2 walls: the side where she's leaning on now and the side behind me which apparently, looked like a trunk of a tree.
A breeze sent a chill to my body. I stood up and examined the whole shed. The floor is made out of dark colored wooden planks; the roof looked like thatched—nothing really much to see. I inched myself towards the side with no walls and there I witnessed how high the altitude was. My acrophobia acting up; made me lose consciousness instantly and fell yet again. But this time, I regained my consciousness midway through.
As I was falling almost halfway down, I thought of the incidents last night. What had happened was almost just exactly right now. Falling and falling. Little did I know that I subconsciously began looking and hoping for that reaper to come to my rescue—stomach began churning—I somehow landed on four without a scratch. I didn't bother how and why; the important thing is that I'd landed safely but it indeed reminded me of a cat.
Brushing things aside, first thing's first. Where exactly am I? I've been waking up to countless different scenarios now and I no longer even know if I'm really still alive or what. Reality check: I can still feel hunger so that's more than enough to assure myself that I am still really alive (do dead people feel hunger too??). I looked upwards and upon knowing how bare it is up there, I marched down under the canopies. I really need to fill my growling stomach before I lose my consciousness again—no more unprecedented collapses please!
As I made my way down to this unknown domain, various birds are singing as if performing at an opera and the chirping of crickets made it sound like an applause from a crowd of audience. The dense green bushes and the moisture of the air here should be enough to make someone alone feel eerie, but it had a different vibe to me: I felt the serenity within this lush greenery.
As I am pacing in between—or on this walkable route, I kept on seeing a bunch of small species of wildlife. Famished, I kept on wondering if I should catch some and check if they're edible. Strangely, I haven't noticed any fruit hanging and, in some way, my back was gradually aching; I started to slouch until I had bent on four. Inadvertently, I stretched like how a cat would. I didn't bother why; it soothed my back, so I just continued to stroll.
Sensibly, it just came to me that my sense of hearing has become somewhat sharper than my usual days. I am hearing sounds that normally I couldn't be hearing every day—leading my attention to those small wildlife species. Well, a thought popped: maybe because I am in a different ecosystem right now that I am hearing these sounds which is plausible. I mean, there wouldn't be this many variations of these presumed chirping insects in the city, would there? I found myself at a constant state of intrapersonal dialogues.
After a few minutes, a distant to my left, I hear a faint gush. I marched towards it and found myself at a stream. The stream was clear as crystal; you could see the rocks beneath. Upon appreciation, I followed down the current, and up ahead, I spotted a camp. I felt relieved upon discovering that there are people around here and yet, my instincts told me to keep a low profile, so I crouched behind the trees and hid near the bushes.
On my first thoughts, these people are somewhat looking different; I don't know why I had thought of it that way, but maybe it was more of a gut feeling. I crept forward—trying not to make a sound stepping on dried leaves and snapping of twigs—until I had settled on a spot where I could have a better vision.
From my distance, I could make out numbers of makeshift tents tied on the trunks of trees that had canopies that are good for shade and breaking raindrops; there were fire pits and cauldrons—oh boy, the thought of cooking made my stomach rumble. I wish I could get a feast—or hoping they would be kind enough to spare some of their meal with me.
A bunch of kids playing with their paper planes and some chasing each other at the opposite bank. A squad composed of men and teenagers emerged from the dense trees with firewood clutched onto their arms. Some of the kids approached them showing off their paper planes.
I could no longer bear my hunger when a whiff from those cauldrons had blown by the wind towards my direction. Just when I was about to stand and reveal myself, I heard deep clicking sounds. I looked behind and before me is a sight that no one would dare witness up-close in the woods: a huge, black, hairy hound.